CHICAGO – Sophomores Jenna Crittendon (Union, Ky./Ryle) and Briana Glover (Mason, Ohio/Mason) both finished with a team-high 14 points as the Xavier women’s basketball team dropped their the opening game of the BIG EAST Conference season and the program's first ever match-up in the league with a 87-60 loss at DePaul on Wednesday night at McGrath-Phillips Arena.

The Musketeers fall to 5-8 overall and 0-1 in BIG EAST play, while the Blue Demons improve to 10-3 on the season and 1-0 in conference.

The Blue and White, who entered the contest ranked fourth in the conference in three-point field goals per game (6.2), knocked down 4-of-18 shots from behind the arc, highlighted by a pair of trifectas from Crittendon.

Crittendon made 5-of-11 shots from the floor and 2-of-5 from long distance to finish with 14 points to go with a game-high seven rebounds. Glover knocked down 5-of-8 shots from the field and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity strip to record a season-high 14 points. Seniors Shatyra Hawkes (Baltimore, Md./St. Frances Academy) and Ashley Wanninger (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) registered seven points each, while sophomore Aliyah Zantt (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg HS) recorded a career-high six steals. Freshman Maddison Blackwell (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln HS) tallied four points and four boards and classmate Brianna Gladney (San Antonio, Texas/Ronald Regan HS) finished with four points and three rebounds.

The Blue Demos were led by Jasmine Penny’s game-high 27 points, while BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Brittany Hrynko finished with 19 points, three boards and three assists in 22 minutes.

After a layup from Hawkes cut the DePaul lead down to 9-6 (16:49). DePaul responded with a 16-4 run to take a 25-10 lead (8:10).

Xavier then used a 16-7 run, highlighted by seven points from Crittendon and six points from Glover, to cut their deficit to six points (32-26) with 3:39 left in the opening period. The Blue Demons went on to outscore XU 11-6 over the final three minutes of the half to take a 41-30 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

The Blue and White, who scored 30 or more points in the first half for the first time in the last five outings, struggled shooting the basketball in the opening 20 minutes. Xavier shot 10-of-31 (32.3 percent) from the field and 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) from behind the arc. The Musketeers also turned the ball over nine times resulting in 14 DePaul points.

Back-to-back layups from Kayla Davis (Brampton, Ontario/St. Marguerite d'Youville) and Glover cut the Blue Demons’ lead down to 47-40 at the 16:14 mark. DePaul responded in a big way, using a 21-6 spurt to grab a commanding 68-46 lead (11:31). The Blue Demons went on to hold off the Musketeers and pick up the 87-60 win in the 2013-14 BIG EAST Conference opener.

The Blue and White will now return to Cintas Center to have their first BIG EAST homestand. XU will host St. John’s (Jan. 4), Georgetown (Jan. 8) and Marquette (Jan. 11) over a seven-day period.